On, and on, and on, and on... 70-68 !

The longest match in the history of Wimbledon, and indeed the history of tennis, occurred in 2010, when American John Isner(left) beat Frenchman Nicholas Mahut, in a 1st round match that took 11 hours and 5 minutes, played out on court number 18, over 3 days. The match had an incredible 5th set which went to 70-68 ! Surely a record that will never ever be broken. Both players could hardly stand up for photos after the match!

Vladimir who?

Vladimir Voltckov

Qualifier almost gets to final ! Vladimir Voltckov was a little-known player until he performed one of the most amazing Wimbledon feats by reaching the mens semi-finals in 2000. Only the great Pete Sampras could stop him from achieving a "miracle" and getting to the final.

Jan Kodes   (Cze)  -The first time Wimbledon was boycotted, 1973.

                                       The first use of the tie-break system.

Won 1973 (bt.Alex Metreveli 6-1, 9-8, 6-3)

The first Wimbledon singles final to include a tie-break, giving the "strange" score of 9-8 for the second set.

The first Wimbledon "strike" - the Championships is boycotted by most of the top players.

           Jan Kodes                                     

 All out boys, we're on strike ! One of the  strangest Wimbledon tournaments of all time, in  1973, saw over 80 players withdraw from the  prestigious championship -  including Stan  Smith, the winner from the previous year - due to the suspension of Nickola Pilic, who was suspended by the Yugoslav federation because they said that Pilic refused to represent them in the Davis Cup.

Unfortunately, many players and tennis enthusiasts regarded the 1973 Championships as "spoilt" by the exclusion of so many top players.However, Kodes cannot be denied his place in the Champions hall of fame.

           Tv wimbledon

          Wimbledon tv transmitting live, with Annabel Croft and Grand Slam winner Mats Wilander